Day 7 - Porthcothan

Beer drunk: 1 pint, Distance walked: 23km, Time taken: 6h 48m (of that 5h 44m walking)

Today was Day 1 of the actually hiking bit and it was an easy day.  The weather was lovely - clear skies and not much wind and no rain!  Navigation was a doddle.  You really don't need a map, just follow the coastline and you'll be fine.

The landlady at the B&B in Padstow thought I was being very brave to walk by myself.  Not sure why walking alone is considered such a dangerous activity.  In any case, I wasn't alone for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a stretch.  I kept coming across other walkers.  Almost all of them either had a serious camera or else a dog (but never both).  I felt underdressed.

There was only one (mildly) difficult part of the path.  At one point there were cattle grazing and of course they had to park themselves on the path, rather than anywhere else in the paddock.  I went around them rather than through, which got me odd looks from some people coming the other way.  They went through without drama but I'm a city girl and when something is that big I'm going to leave it alone.

The coastline around here is lovely.  I haven't tried to take photos of it as I lack the serious camera.  You'll have to google it to see for yourself.  A consequence of the beauty of the area is the Cornish have a serious obsession with benches (second only to their love of dogs).  If there is a halfway pleasing view then there is bench to sit on and admire it.  Also, why stop at one bench when half a dozen will fit.

I like the B&B here better than the one in Padstow.  It is a bungalow with the front part turned into 2 bedrooms (with ensuite bathrooms each) and a small sitting room.  The owners live in the back section. The guests come and go by the front door while the owners go in the back.  Comfortable and privacy all round.  I was the only person staying too.

Lunch was a Cornish pastie and an apple.  I can see why tin miners ate them as they are a convenient package for your food, but otherwise the one I had was unremarkable.  I also had an ice cream cone (Honeycomb crunch) from a shop halfway alone the route selling Kelly's famous Cornish ice cream.  I've since discovered Kelly's is the Cornish equivalent of Peters.  You could eat it.

The choice for dinner tonight was easy.  There is the pub in the village or the pub or else the pub, so I went to the pub.  I had a pint of a seasonal ale by Skinner's Brewery which was very pleasing.  I stopped at just the one (to my disappointment) because the pub was up a narrow, winding road without any shoulders (shades of walking on the Amalfi coast) and I needed my wits about me to make it safely home.  This pub was definitely not a gastro pub.  I had the steak and chips.  The steak was tough and the chips were soggy.  I also had peas and mushrooms on the side.  They managed to make the peas tasteless which I think takes skill.  After all, what do you do to peas except open the packet of frozen peas, pour some out and zap them in the microwave?